Speed as progression

Faith has always had a valueble trait of natural forward drive.

She is fast, brave, powerful and willing to take ownership of a line. Earlier in her training, that natural intensity meant I needed to build more connection. I wanted her to stay aware of my information, remain responsive while moving at speed, and understand that agility was something we were doing together—not simply a course she attacked independently.

That work has been successful.

She is now amazing to run. She feels incredibly connected, thoughtful and aware of information. She listens without losing flow, adjusts quickly and still produces very competitive times. She has become the kind of dog who feels almost “easy” on a course.

But I also know her.

I have seen what she looks like when she is fully determined. I know how much ground she can cover when she is completely determined to reach something. I know the difference between Faith running quickly and Faith genuinely opening up for her maximum capacity.

Downgrading her gear was intentional. It was necessary for the stage we were in. But I no longer think the best next step is to continue adding more technical skills and complexity while rehearsing this slightly moderated version of her.

The next phase is not about teaching her more. It is about allowing more of her back in. Instead of progressing her towards more advanced grade 3 setups, I’m going back to grade 1 to add gear. This is part of my progression plan, to others it probably looks like a stall in progression while it for me is adding more stress and making sure the details of performance catch up with more allowens of reaching her full potential.